Amazon Appstore triples selection in one year

That will likely explode with the debut of Amazon's new 3D smartphone this week

So about halfway through the current season of “Game of Thrones,” Comcast realized that I am not, in fact, paying for the HBO subscription that I’ve been enjoying for free for the last two years, and they cut me off. Thankfully, I have an awesome friend (who will remain nameless because the NSA is listening) who gave me her HBO Go password. As the owner of a Kindle Fire, I was so utterly and completely thrilled to find that HBO Go is in the Kindle Appstore, so now I can finish out the fourth season of “Game of Thrones” (no spoilers—I haven’t seen the finale yet).

Amazon is holding a press event in two days, where it’s expected to unveil its very own 3D smartphone. So it makes sense that Amazon announced today that its Appstore is doing swimmingly, thank you very much!

Amazon revealed Monday that the Appstore selection has nearly tripled in the past year and now has over 240,000 apps available in 200 countries. By comparison, Apple has 1.2 million apps in its App Store, some 475,000 of which are native to the iPad—so to be fair, Amazon has slightly more than half the number of tablet apps Apple has, even though the Kindle Fire hasn’t been around as long.

Of course, Amazon’s Appstore will likely see an influx of apps with the debut of its much anticipated smartphone, which is believed to have no less than six cameras. Five front-facing cameras give the smartphone unique head-tracking capabilities in relation to the display, allowing the software to modify the visuals for a 3D effect, sans glasses. Interestingly, this will reportedly apply to apps as well. For example, when using the phone’s maps app, tilting the phone will alter the visuals of the map and give the user different perspectives.

The number of new developers joining the Appstore per month doubled in the last year, likely due to the fact that a full 65% said revenue from Kindle Fire apps is the same or better than other platforms. Although…put another way, this means a full third of Kindle Fire developers are not happy with the revenue they’re getting from the Appstore. That said, a much greater number—76%--said that the Kindle Fire helps them connect with new market segments.

“Developers tell us that they experience improved reach, greater monetization, and, oftentimes, higher revenue when they have their apps and games in the Amazon Appstore,” said Mike George, Vice President of Amazon Appstore and Games, in a statement. “But this is just the beginning—we’re building more services and capabilities for developers and more Android-based APIs based on their feedback. Most Android apps just work on Kindle Fire, and with an Appstore made for Android devices, Amazon’s Appstore can help developers distribute their apps on Android devices all over the world. It’s a great time for developers to bring their apps to the Amazon Appstore.”